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In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

theguardian.com

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Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#161

Post by smokey_the_bear »

zepto wrote: post #134
smokey_the_bear wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We take them approximately once a month.

How often would you go without the stigma?

Maybe twice a month. We typically stop there only when traveling now. We might stroll to the one a half mile from our house for dinner once in awhile otherwise.

McDonald's isn't a large part of our mostly wholesome diet. I feel good about what my kids eat on a day to day basis.

Also, I'm the mother. It's not really germane to the issue, but everyone in this thread assumed otherwise.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#162

Post by ceejayoz »

inDigiNeous wrote: post #154
smokey_the_bear wrote: post #6

McDonalds is the only restaurant I enjoy eating at with my 2 and 3 year olds. Every other restaurant is a slog to get through the meal. Honestly I'd eat there more often if it weren't for the social stigma of it. (I live in Berkeley). I am pretty sure the cheeseburger, apple slices, and chocolate milk are not much worse, and probably better, than the typical fare on a slapped together kids meal. When I was a kid, my…

Probably better than a real meal made at an restaraunt ? Are you trolling ? Do you know how much preservatives and sugar goes into the food at McDonalds ? See this video for an idea how long the food at McDonalds takes to rot because of these artificial ingredients: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uHxRwQqWFo Also have fun time knowing that each time you visit McDonalds, you are supporting the slavery and killing of…

The actual explanation for that video is moisture content, not preservatives / artificial ingredients.

http://www.snopes.com/six-year-old-happy-meal-doesnt-rot/

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#163

Post by stcredzero »

Retric wrote: post #153
stcredzero wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People need to be aware of the distinction between criticizing cultural/sub-cultural mores/ideologies and criticizing individuals. In the US, the two seem to get very often confused. Individuals are individuals. Sub-cultural mores are products (distortions) of the media. The two are not the same. However, the latter seems to have tremendous power in framing public debate.

Cultures are frameworks for viewing the world. Some early anti drug adds actually backfired and promoted drug use as some people started to associate 'cool kids' and drugs. Some groups associate 'Long hours' with hard work and dedication, others view them as a sign your not working hard enough. Not that everyone in a group identifies with every assumption of that group, but these things are more complex than simply b…

these things are more complex than simply being shaped by the all powerful media.

This notion itself is becoming more nebulous with the rise of social media. Traditional media has lost much of its power, and much of that power has been taken over by social media. When the media merges with and to a large extent becomes us, what happens? I'm not so sure.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#164

Post by stcredzero »

jrnichols wrote: post #124
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I have noticed a strange flip-flop over the last 30 years or so. While the most prominent in and out groups have changed, the folks who used to talk the most trash about outsiders are now much more reticent. Now many of the folks who used to complain about getting put down are now the ones (mostly in private, but many times in public) with all the trash talk, i.e., acting like they always thought all the oth…

""Redneck Liberals" comes to mind. " I don't think people realize just what a late group this really is. Often times they're more under the Libertarian umbrella, though, but still... there's more shades of purple than there are red or blue.

Actually, one of my best friends in Texas is a "Redneck Liberal" but he's more of the "slightly to the left of Mao" sort than he is a Libertarian.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#165

Post by gh-lfneu28 »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #144
balls187 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Your kids are your kids and it's your choice how to raise them. Full stop. No need to continue with the rest of your judgements. Parenting is a very hard job, and it's only made worse by all the parents (and even worse--non-parents) that want to make judgements. Being a parent, I now have a profound respect and appreciation for my parents (especially my mother). Things weren't always great, but they did the best th…

No, not full stop. Just because raising kids, being a police officer, digging a ditch is "hard work" doesn't free someone from having that work criticized.

Actually everyone should be free from being criticized, except for the people with the authority to do so. That goes double for people doing hard work and triple for people doing work that every joe shmoe on the internet thinks himself an expert on.

In other words, my spouse can criticize my parenting everyone else can go frack themselves. Full stop.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#166

Post by jernfrost »

smokey_the_bear wrote: post #6

McDonalds is the only restaurant I enjoy eating at with my 2 and 3 year olds. Every other restaurant is a slog to get through the meal. Honestly I'd eat there more often if it weren't for the social stigma of it. (I live in Berkeley). I am pretty sure the cheeseburger, apple slices, and chocolate milk are not much worse, and probably better, than the typical fare on a slapped together kids meal. When I was a kid, my…

Hey I like going to McDonalds with the kids now and then too. But if this is the only nice place to go where you live I find that truly sad. I love taking my kids out eating but my favorite places are different Italian restaurants. Some area really good at making thin Italian pizza and other are really good with the pasta.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#167

Post by balls187 »

smokey_the_bear wrote: post #161
zepto wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How often would you go without the stigma?

Maybe twice a month. We typically stop there only when traveling now. We might stroll to the one a half mile from our house for dinner once in awhile otherwise. McDonald's isn't a large part of our mostly wholesome diet. I feel good about what my kids eat on a day to day basis. Also, I'm the mother. It's not really germane to the issue, but everyone in this thread assumed otherwise.

In all fairness, Smokey was a male bear.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#168

Post by jernfrost »

tobltobs wrote: post #103
RankingMember wrote: post #55

I remember driving through a Native American reservation in the Southwest and stopping at a McDonald's after seeing not much of anything for miles and miles. I walked in and it was like everyone in the reservation was there hanging out it was so alive with conversation and activity. I'm not a McDonald's fan, but I'm glad they exist to serve purposes like that, because I'm not sure where else the people in that one wo…

The interesting question is, if this is a sign for an achievement of McDonalds or a failure of the society?

Yeah that is my issue with the whole thing. I don't blame McDonalds. I blame the rest of society for being such a big failure that a multinational junk food maker becomes the community center for poor people.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#169

Post by Retric »

rhizome wrote: post #150
Retric wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can find deeply troubling things about all cultures. White, black, brown, rich, poor, middle class, young, old, doctors, brick layers, or welfare recipients. Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists all have beliefs that seem wrong to people both inside and outside of those groups. Pretending groups are somehow above criticism is more about manners than fact. PS: I have watched several people be…

That some have and others have not become more racist after moving to DC means it's primarily about the people involved. If it can't be generalized on "moving to DC," then the distinctions have to be evaluated on finer data.

Don't assume everyone is starting from the same point. There are many successful people from all walks of life in DC, but you also see people imposing on others in public. Sure, it's only the worst 5% that's causing problems but get enough people together and that 5% can get really annoying.

I also often see people complain about their own ethic group a lot, though this is more about class than race.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#170

Post by Pxtl »

smokey_the_bear wrote: post #6

McDonalds is the only restaurant I enjoy eating at with my 2 and 3 year olds. Every other restaurant is a slog to get through the meal. Honestly I'd eat there more often if it weren't for the social stigma of it. (I live in Berkeley). I am pretty sure the cheeseburger, apple slices, and chocolate milk are not much worse, and probably better, than the typical fare on a slapped together kids meal. When I was a kid, my…

Yup. If there were more eateries that made as much effort to be kid-friendly as McDonald's (and I'm not talking about the food, I'm talking about the toys and the playplace) I'd get out more.

It's actually quite frustrating because my kids and I are vegetarians and while the wrap suits me just fine, my kids get stuck with their mediocre grilled cheese sandwiches (vegetarian children are still children - they think the wrap is weird).

It's not that I need every place to go to the lengths the clown does. I don't expect Pita Pit or my local felafel place to build playgrounds. I just wish there was a second chain providing this kind of product.

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